Denuo
by Lady Savage
Summary: When the Shanshu prophecy is fulfilled, what more could a pair of souls want more than a second chance?
1. Second Chances

**A/N:**_ This is an idea that just won't leave me alone. Two fics are going undone because this idea won't leave me alone. Four original characters, Angel, Spike, the early Scoobs, it's all good. Basically, I'm aiming this fic for originality and humour. It'll be a little dark at the start, but it will get lighter and funnier as we go on. Hopefully… As for pairings, you have to wait and see. So nurr :P. Thanks and a special wink to _Ultrawoman_, and double thanks to _Ezekeiel Rage_, my lurvely betas._

**Disclaimer:**_ I'm doing it again. I seem to be unable to write a fic without bringing in someone new. This time I'm bringing in four someones. Some people. Hmm…_

**XXX**

_**.:DENUO:.**_

**XXX**

**Second Chances**

_"Greetings, gentle viewer. I, Annalisa Mevirium Telomire, am your tekcoder and I am recording the End of Days itself. I am unsure as to when, if ever, this will be seen so I shall recount for you the dire situation we find ourselves in._

_The situation began in the year 2003CE. The holy Buffy Summers, along with the revered Willow Rosenberg and their saintly circle cast a spell which released the potential of all slayers. There was no longer one slayer to defend against the demons and the darkness, but many. It was a mighty blow for the forces of good, and after Giles the Wise reinstituted the Watcher's Council there was an age where those who fought in the light began to win the everlasting battle, that lasted until 2134CE._

_2134CE is a year that is recorded as the worst in human history. An entire Talon of slayers turned rogue and assisted in the opening of a Hellmouth. The demons poured forth in uncountable numbers, guided by a being of unbelievable evil. All our research on the matter showed us was that this being was called the Taunter._

_At first, the slayers and the jelts -- err, that's non-slayer human fighter if you don't know -- did well, both fighting against the ever growing demon numbers and the riots that stemmed from the public being forced to accept the reality of demons. However, by 2190CE our morale had reached an all time low. The demons still flooded without number and we had lost many of our best and brightest and still no end was in sight._

_Then came the glorious day of December 25th 2190, a day that shall forever be marked in calendars as special from then on. Angel and Spike, the ensouled vampires made themselves known. Their appearance brought hope to the people of Earth. Two vampires, the strength of their human souls combating and defeating the innate darkness within them. They were a beacon of hope to millions, their immortal, endless struggle against the Taunter and it's minions._

_Their skill, experience and dedication to the battle rose morale sky-high. Morale only got higher in the Autumn of 2234 when the forces of the Taunter succumbed to their demonic nature and began to battle amongst themselves. Humankind had something of a reprieve then, and the final bastions of our society were defended. Life went on._

_However, the war was still being lost. Every battle lost killed as many innocents as soldiers - if not more - and every battle won still had casualties. It was taking time the human race didn't have to breed and train warriors, unlike the demons who spawned in hundreds and were battle-ready from the get-go. They were like a flood, slowly rising to engulf the remainder of humanity._

_The brilliant General Angel then recalled something from his earlier times, a story he described as biblical. It entailed God sending down a flood to wash away the impure, and he charged a man named Noah to take his family and two of every animal onto his ark in order to save life. And thus the plan for the Arks was begun._

_Six giant interstellar spacecraft to shuttle man to safety, each loaded with enough nepenthe to scorch the surface of the Earth clean. It was to be a fighting evacuation, with us fleeing to safety while striking one last blow at the heart of the demons, making the Earth uninhabitable even for them._

_Construction was slow. The demons raided any transports, halting those carrying the necessary equipment for the construction to begin. It was the brave general Spike who came up with the solution. It seemed the Taunter carried a personal grudge against the inestimable Spike from plans that the devastatingly attractive vampire had foiled as far back as 2003CE._

_Spike, and a select number of slayers and jelts, would make a dash into demon forces and begin a melee that quickly drew all the demons in a four hundred mile radius to their location, allowing the transporters to escape. These death runs had delightfully few casualties because, as General Spike had predicted, once such a large number of demons came together the violence grew on it's own and the champions could escape to safety._

_Eventually, late in the year 2299CE, the Arks were completed. People began to, with aid from the death runs, sneak into the launch site: Australia, the last place large enough to house the Arks still in human control. The first Ark was launched June 2nd, 2300CE. It was a tragedy._

_The scientists had not calculated for the atmospheric changes wrought by the Hellmouth's opening and had in fact been working off calculations several hundred years old, meaning the Ark couldn't handle the increased pressure. The hull buckled and the Ark was torn in half under the pressure between engine and gravity. Millions of lives were lost when the nepenthe stored on the ship sprayed over the other Arks and the landing area, corroding much of the work done._

_It was the lowest point in human history to date, and hopefully ever. The Taunter was now aware of our plans for escape and Australia was besieged by countless demons. The death runs ceased to work as the outer perimeter was one endless battle and even the small repairs necessary to fix the Arks became nigh on impossible._

_By 2363CE, though, the Arks were ready once more to be launched. Almost all of the remaining weaponry was fired in an endless barrage to cut a swathe in the mess of demons living, fighting and breeding around humanity's only chance for survival. The remainder of our people came running to the comparative safety, bringing what food and weapons they could. It was a lamentably small number._

_The demons compounded their attack, but the added numbers and guns turned the battle our way even though the food was dwindling rapidly. The two billion remaining humans, down from seventeen billion only two hundred and fifty years ago, took two years to be organised onto the Arks safely._

_It is now August 24th 2365CE. The Arks are loaded and as safe as can be. The launch time is in three hours. In order to properly defend the escaping Arks, six brave souls have decided to stay behind, sacrificing their lives in order to protect the remainder of the human race. I, myself, am one of these six and by far the least brave. As I stated earlier, I am here to record the End of Days, and if the Arks do not work then this entire exercise may very well have been futile._

_However, we must remain optimistic. I have utmost confidence that the Arks will take off perfectly well and that future generations will watch my fears with tolerant amusement. I shall now take you to meet the other five who are staying behind, good viewer._

_Lean, lithe, powerful. Spike is a 485 year-old vampire with a soul. He has been in possession of his soul for 365 years now and he still strives for atonement for the 120 years he spent as a soulless killer. Spike! Spike, why have you chosen to remain here as a martyr instead of fleeing on the Arks?"_

_"Get that bloody thing out of my face you daft bint!"_

_"I- inspiring words. The next of the brave souls sacrificing themselves for humanity is the only surviving member of the last death runner squad two years ago, Derekthel Inogu Shawai. Derekthel, why have you elected to stay behind?"_

_"Argh!! Mekh! Don't sneak up on someone like that when they're cleaning their weapon pad. You nearly caused me to blow the doors open."_

_"I'm sorry, but can you share why you have chosen to remain behind?"_

_"…I've been lucky. I mean, obviously not too much because I'm here, right? But overall, I've been lucky. I haven't lost anyone really close to me to the demons. My ma, my pa, my little sis, my big bro, they're all fine. I guess it's for them that I'm staying. What's that old saying that Angel brings up every time Spike screws something? 'If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself'? Well, that's what I'm doing. I can't trust anyone else with my family's life. Besides, better for repopulation to lose a gay guy than a straight one, right?"_

_"Ha. I guess so. Thank you for sharing with us, Derekthel."_

_"Hey, not gonna bother me. I'm going to be dead in a few hours anyway, right?"_

_"Uhh…. The next person in our little group is Marelatoy Hestoravik Tyverley, the most talented technician left on the face of the planet. Tell the viewers why you're staying behind to be in the rearguard."_

_"It's simple, really. I have to see how it ends. I love this planet and everybody on it, and I don't think I have it in me to abandon it. I'm here to take out as many of those demons as possible before I go, as well as increasing the chance for the Arks' success. Let's face it, I'm the best shot left."_

_"That was moving, Marelatoy. I'm sure future generations will appreciate your honesty. And now on to the last human member of our crew. Angemina Yuspike is the last of the slayers. Named after her heroes, Angel and Spike themselves, her efforts and attitude have considerably brightened the gloom that has surrounded us since our decision to stay. Angemina, why have you chosen to stay?"_

_"Oh. My. Tel! Am I gonna be on tekscreen? That is so awesome! Hey there, future peoples! Check this out!"_

_"Ange- Angemina! That's a very impressive handstand, but can I ask you why you're staying?"_

_"Oh, sure thing. It's what slayers do. We do the fighting so other people, normal people, can keep on living. Yeah, it's going to bite the big one when I die, but at least I'll die knowing that everyone else is safe. That's more than any other slayer has gotten."_

_"That- that was beautiful. Thank you Angemina. And now we're going to speak with our fearless leader, Angel. A 612 year old vampire, having a soul for all but one hundred and forty seven of those years, he is the oldest surviving fighter for the side of good. Angel, why have you decided to remain behind?"_

_"To finish this. Spike and I are demons. We have souls, but that doesn't change the fact that there's a demon inside each of us just screaming to be allowed to rip, tear, kill. If we die here, then it's ended. For good or not, humans will be in complete control of their own destiny."_

_"Piss of, Peaches. You can't be trying to say your bloody decision to play martyr has nothing to do with the fact that hair gel hasn't existed for too hundred sodding years."_

_"As though yours has nothing to do with the lack of peroxide this century!"_

_"Umm, words of great emotional maturity from our leaders. These will be the last words I share with you, viewer. We now go to face our death, and ensure your life."_

**XXX**

The Arks exploded into action, great jets of flame scorching the dry, barren earth beneath them as the lumbering hulks finally lifted themselves into the air. The demons went wild, trying to swarm towards the massive ships only to be cut down from the intense fire and preliminary jets of nepenthe being launched at them. The smarter of the demons began to flood the launch tunnel, where six unlikely heroes waited their death, reasoning that the ships couldn't stop an attack from below.

The demons scrambled down the long concrete corridor, their heavily muscled bodies hidden underneath chitinous armour, only to be met with a bizarre site. Three men stood with one woman, each baring a Nightweapon - blades of pure energy and handles of lightweight steel - and two women mounting a pair of Railguns behind them.

They let out an enraged roar as the high calibre bolts tore through the first of them, but the unstoppable press of numbers pushed the fight too close for the Railguns to be of much use. As the Arks finally penetrated the atmosphere and began to unload their full payload of nepenthe, the six warriors battled furiously, battled desperately to ensure the safety of those leaving them behind.

Suddenly the demons froze in their places. All sound stopped except the heavy breathing of the four humans. Looking around in confusion, the six were surprised to suddenly find themselves in a marble chamber instead of the dim concrete tunnel. Two gold skinned figures, man and woman dressed only in flowing white toga, stood at the head of the chamber.

"Angel. Spike. You have played your part in the apocalypse and you shall receive your reward. Your Shanshu," the female figure stated monotonously. Spike snorted.

"That's blood rich. Get to come back as real boys when there's no-one left to play with."

"We do not appreciate you insolence, vampire," the male stated coldly. "We are aware that this dimension is lost. Instead, we offer a choice." The six waited for the male to continue, nearly jumping out of their skin when the woman began to speak behind them, having walked around while their attention was on the other.

"You can return to your dimension and die honourable deaths and ascend to the realms of light, or you may Shanshu in another dimension; one in which you do not exist yet. What do you choose, vampires?"

"We're not going anywhere without these four. It's either all of us or none of us."

"YOU ARE IN NO POSITION TO ARGUE, VAMPIRE!" the male roared.

"For half a millennium I have fought your battles. I have done the right thing. This is the least you could do for us."

There was a tense silence.

"Very well."

**XXX**

**A/N:**_ Well, I think that went well, all in all. Few things to mention before my standard plea for reviews. After each date has been CE, instead of AD. CE is abbreviated from Common Era, a name some secular scholars are using, and my reason is to indicate the total secularisation of the government in my world. Second thing, Denuo is Latin for anew, for a second time. I think it's appropriate. This is going to be my most abitious project to date, focusing on nine characters (at least) frequently. Insert standard plea for reviews. Lemme know how you feel people, 'cos I have a lot of ideas for this one._


	2. Confusion and perplexity

**A/N:**_ I got a very good response for this fic. As such I'm trying to get a new chapter that sets the tone of future chapters better. I know where I'm going with three of my four characters, and the fourth is something of a wildcard at this point. I should have planned the character better, but so far lack of planning hasn't stopped me. I'm including character flashbacks/flashforwards, to help explain my original characters. Praise my betas, because it's their steady support that keeps my dribbles worth reading. If they are, that is. So, cheerio _Ultrawoman_ and _Ezekeiel Rage,_ my betas._

**Disclaimer:**_ I've decided my fics need more nudity. Sex sells, right? Well get ready. This fic is going to be nuderama. Or not. It's all relative. _

**XXX**

**Confusion and perplexity**

**XXX**

"_Greetings once more, gentle viewer. It is I, Annalisa Mevirium Telomire, 'coding once more for our archives. This tekcode is The Training and Inspiration of Jelts VI. On this special day, Monday the 12th of January 2363CE, we have been given an exclusive privilege not given to any other before. We will be listening in to one of General Spike's famous educational/inspirational speeches."_

"_You're all going to die. Simple fact. If you thought any different, then you're a bloody idiot. If you're here, that means you want your death to mean something. That's good. If you can manage to come back alive, that's better. Then we get to use you again._

_Make no mistake, we're not heroes. We're idiots.We run out into the most hazardous environment that this world has ever seen to distract the largest bloody demon army this world has ever seen, on the off chance that we'll be able to bring more people or supplies in._

_I can smell fear on a lot of you. Good. Fear keeps you alive. Fear will keep you alert. There's more out there to worry about than the bloody demons. Those are the easy part. Quick, simple evisceration is more than a lot of us get._

_Keep an eye on the sky. It's always cloudy, but you need to learn how to distinguish between cloud and smog if you plan to make it out alive. The rain won't hurt the demons, but it well cause permanent erosion of your skin. Nothin' uglier than a rain victim,_

_Learn to separate between night and day. It'll always look the same, but during the day... the sulphur pits belch out more fumes during the day. The demons are less active during the day. Take it from a creature of the night._

_Never have any regrets before leaving, because chances are you won't be coming back._

_Lastly, get killed, not injured. I don't ant to be dragging your worthless carcass back so you can die here._

_Now get the bloody hell out of my sight."_

**XXX**

Annalisa opened her eyes reluctantly. Being woken by a draught when you're lying on a cold, hard floor is not pleasant, and for some reason her body was encased in coarse materiel. Her bleary vision came to rest on a large bay window, and for a moment she looked lethargically out at the night sky.

"Mekh!" she screeched, scrambling away from the window as fast as she could until she tripped over the prone form of Angel, who grunted surlily at being woken up. "Angel! Angel! We're in the open! We're in the outside! Wake up, we're all in danger!"

"Wha?" Angel asked groggily, looking around blindly for a second. "Anna, calm down. Outside isn't as dangerous here." The ex-vampire pushed himself to his knees. "I don't think," he muttered under his breath, scratching the back of his head lazily. He looked at the hyperventilating young woman. "Okay, calm down. Panicking isn't helping anybody. We need to find everyone, make sure we're all okay."

Annalisa made a strenuous effort to calm herself and reminded herself that a good tekcoder was observant of his or her surroundings at all times. Looking at herself first, she noticed she was wearing what appeared to be surprisingly colourful - Blue pants? Yellow top? Craziness - yet unpleasantly coarse clothing. The fact that she was wearing clothing, always a plus.

Her state of dress determined, she expanded her realm of awareness outwards. It looked like she was in some kind of old building, made, apparently, of stone. Despite it's primitive construction it gave a sense of opulence. Thick red draperies hung on the sides of the windows, like vivid copies of the ones found in Spike's or Angel's War Rooms back home.

The moonlight cast an odd pattern of shadows across the floor, not helping to calm Anna who'd been taught from an early age to expect the monsters in the dark. One particular silhouette was looking particularly suspicious and dense, until it shifted slightly and began to snore. She'd recognise that painful, grating sound in any time or place. Crossing the floor on her hands and knees - after all, it was better to be safe than dead - she gave the shade a hard poke in the back.

"Angemina Yuspike!" The lump refused to move, so Anna gave it a sharp kick with the toe of her surprisingly stylish footwear. "Attention soldier!" Anna barked loudly.

Angemina sprung to her feet, immediately looking around for the danger and there was a groan from across the large room. Four curious glances - because Angel had found and woken Marelatoy just moments before Annalisa began barking orders - showed a groggy Derekthel on his knees, obviously still mostly asleep, trying to salute.

The five travellers gathered together in the middle of the large room, Derekthel and Angemina glaring balefully at Annalisa for waking them - they were always churlish after waking up, which was really inconsiderate of them because it's not like it was safe for them to be waking two of the most deadly fighters left on Earth - and worrying about where their sixth member was. The issue was soon resolved.

"Bloody HELL!"

Everyone let out a breath they hadn't realised they'd been holding when they heard the familiar expletive come from up the stairs. The relief was quickly replaced with shock when Spike appeared at the head of the stairs. Naked as the day he was born. Angemina quickly turned her back, her face beet red, and Angel, after a brief minute of complete and utter confusion, looked around for something to clothe his erstwhile friend with, but Derekthel, Annalisa and Marelatoy all stared at the naked man unabashedly. The view was really too good to pass up.

"Those bloody pillocks have a sense of bloody humour," Spike complained sourly as he ambled down the stairs, clearly not self-conscious about his body - and why should he be? Smooth, pale, unblemished skin covered clearly defined and oh-so-obviously rock-hard abs, and several other features were nothing to turn one's nose up at, either… The three riveted to Spike's descent titled their heads to the right simultaneously.

"Well, Spike," Angel began, tossing him one of the heavy drapes he had torn from the window, "it probably wasn't the best idea to call them a 'nancy-boy' and a 'tart' and suggest they 'climb down off their high-horse before someone shoves a bloody rail-road spike up their bloody asses'."

Spike scowled as he wrapped the heavy cloth around him like a toga - deeply disappointing three of his companions - and loftily ignored Angel's wisdom. Like he did every single time the other vamp-- man was right. Looking around the giant room, Spike began to frown. "Angel, do you recognise this place?"

"No, I've never- wait a minute…" Angel murmured, looking around, his brow furrowing thoughtfully.

"Can I look yet?" Angemina squeaked, still entirely red-faced and looking at the far wall.

"Yeah, love," Spike muttered looking around as intently as Angel.

"The mansion!" Angel declared suddenly, causing four of the others to look at him in confusion.

"Of course!" Spike exclaimed, not very helpfully.

"What mansion?" Marelatoy asked, hating to be out of the loop even more than the others.

"It's where I stayed in Sunnydale when I was evil and after I came back from Hell," Angel supplied, as Spike looked around with nostalgic fondness painted on his face.

"Look, what the Mekh is going on here?" Marelatoy demanded, exasperated. Angel and Spike ignored her.

"We need to go out and see when and where we are," Angel declared.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Obviously, Peaches, but we can't all go traipsing around out there, can we?" At Angel's blank look, he pointed at his own unclothed situation, smirking when the other man's eyes widened. "Should probably split into two groups."

"Right. I'll go find a newspaper or something, get you some clothes and maybe grab something to eat," Angel listed, counting off on his fingers. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "I'm hungry! I'm hungry!" he repeated joyously, his grin matched only by the one on Spike's face.

"You've been hungry before," Derekthel inserted dryly, a little amused at the almost childish glee of the two former vampires.

"No, I'm _hungry_," Angel stressed. "As in, I want food. I'm human!"

"Yeah, well, you'd best be going. Standing about here like a big poofter's not helping anyone, is it?" Spike muttered, not fooling anyone with his gruff exterior but still earning a dirty look from the other ex-vampire. They all knew he was as happy as Angel, and Angel was so happy he was _emoting._

"I'll go with you, Angel!" Angemina declared excitedly, completely oblivious to the slight look of panic on the former vampire's face. "You're human now, so I'll have to protect you."

Spike sniggered into his hands. "That means Derek's with me, then. Can't take all the fighters with clothing off together."

Angel sighed and consigned himself to the fact that the boisterous young slayer would be accompanying him on his exploratory mission.

**XXX**

Derekthel winced and shifted himself again, and again. Whatever these pants were made of, they were rough and uncomfortable. Still, better that he had bad pants than no pants like Spike. Although pants-less Spike was a plus for him. The once-vampire was not really his type, but what man or woman ever turned down a chance for eye candy like that?

Derekthel shifted again only to notice a particularly uncomfortable and hard square pressing unpleasantly into his rear. This was the last straw. Here he was, in some alternate dimension, wearing really scratchy stuff, sitting alone in the main room of a giant stone and marble place that isn't highly defensible with no obvious weapons lying around, alone because everyone else decided to do a little recon without him and someone had to wait for Angel and Angemina and since he was the only fighter who was clothed in the house he was the one who had to wait and now there was some malfunction with his pants and they were pressing into his ass painfully and he COULDN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!

With a scream of rage, he slammed his chair into the floor over and over, splintering the wood beyond recognition and drawing everyone left in the house to him. Derek looked around with wild eyes, gripping the fragments of chair in his fists.

"What the bloody hell happened?" Spike asked roughly, still dressed in his curtain.

Derek continued to stare around blindly.

"He doesn't deal well with pressure," Marelatoy informed the others, recognising the hallmarks in her old friend. Spike looked at her askance.

"He used to run into uncovered territory to fight with bloody demons strong enough to tear him into little fragments smaller than a sodding nemmil," Spike said incredulously.

Marelatoy sighed. "Yeah, but he knew what to expect then. We're in a world we're unfamiliar with. None of us know what the rules are here," she said softly, prying the demolished chair from the dazed Derek, who sat down slowly only to jump up with a yelp when his pants malfunction kicked in again. "What's wrong?"

"…there's something wrong with my pants," Derek said in an embarrassed tone. Annalisa, Marelatoy and Spike all looked directly at his groin. He threw them all a dirty look and said, "The back of my pants!" He spun to point out exactly where his pants were misbehaving only to feel Spike press his hand against his ass. "Hey!"

"You have a wallet?" Spike asked, pulling out a small square-shaped leather item from somewhere in the vicinity of Derek's ass.

"A what?" Annalisa asked, and if there'd been a moment where her desire for a tekcorder had been any more apparent Derekthel had missed it.

Spike ignored her in favour of unfolding the leather item and looking at the insides. "You have credit cards," Spike said, sounding very amused as he pulled out a shiny, green card and throwing it to Derekthel. It listed his name as Derek Shawai, or possibly American Express. It was a little unclear on that particular point.

"Great, but what the Mekh are they for, why do they have my name on it and why were they in my pants?" Derek asked, already far out of his depth and feeling the insidious creep of panic begin again.

"Look, if we're where Broody Boy and I think we are, the world is a very different place," Spike began, wadding his curtain beneath him so he could sit comfortably. "There aren't nearly as many demons and all the Hellmouths are closed. Humans fight amongst themselves more than against demons. Point of fact, most humans don't even know demons exist."

"Then how do they protect themselves?" Marelatoy asked curiously.

"They don't," Spike replied bluntly. "You have to buy things in this kind of world, exchange pieces of paper and metal for items or services. You get these bits of metal and paper, called money, by supplying an item or service."

Derekthel, Marelatoy and Annalisa looked at each other for a moment. "But that's so primitive," Annalisa complained. Spike just shrugged.

"Turn out your pockets," Spike ordered. Everyone else stared at him blankly, and he sighed heavily. "Check just below the waistband of your pants. There should be an opening in the fabric. It's called a pocket."

A perusal of these 'pockets' turned out two wallets, one for each of the girls, a small metal ring with a collection of metal shards Spike called 'keys' and two tiny black and silver plastic case that Spike called a 'cell phone'. Spike had wandered off to find where 'those bloody wankers put _my_ stuff' and left Derek and the others to rummage through their new stuff.

"Hey!" Annalisa complained sharply. "This says my name is Anna Telomire! They cut off most of my name!"

"You think that's bad?" Marelatoy asked sourly. "I'm Mary Tyverley. What the Mekh kind of name is 'Mary', anyway?"

"Hey, ladies? Either of you know what a 'library of Sunnydale' is?" Derek asked, looking at one of the cards from his wallet. They shook there heads. "Argh! This is infuriating," Derek declared in disgust, before gathering up the items and returning them to his pockets. "Let's find Spike."

Derek waited for the girls to grab their stuff as well before getting up and walking briskly in the direction Spike had gone. They wandered through the hallways listening for some sounds of life, peeking into the occasional room. Whatever kind of world they found themselves in, it was far more given to extravagance than their own time.

After a twenty minute search - revealing rooms with various items and clothes, one of which was clearly Angemina's due to the unhealthy number of weapons displayed on the wall - the finally came across a sound in the silent mansion; the patter of falling water.

Quelling the instinctive wave of panic -- after all, new dimension -- Derek opened the door the sound emanated from. The room's interior was far darker than all of the other outfitted rooms, barring one that was probably Angel's, with black and red being the only colours in the dramatic room. Stepping in, the drumming of water on hard surface grew louder, originating from behind the second door in the room.

Derek pressed an ear to the door -- because no amount of logic was going to change a lifetime of self-preservation and Derek was the designated risk-taker with Angemina absent -- and he heard Spike humming in a low tone.

"Spike?!" he called out, unable to keep the panic from his voice. It could be raining in there.

"Just a sec'," the ex-vampire called back, the splash of water dwindling after a time.

There were a few thuds and a muffled curse or two then the door swung open suddenly to reveal a glistening Spike. From somewhere he'd found a black pair of the same pants that Derek and the others wore, but he was still topless -- by choice or lack of tops was unclear -- and small beads of water dampened his pale skin. He was loosely towelling his head.

Derek and the girls' gazes only shifted away from Spike's lean hip-bones and well-defined muscles when he let the towel dropped away from his head. Three pairs of eyes snapped towards Spike's hair, which was now peroxide white.

After a lengthy explanation about peroxide and other hair products, including a lot of insinuations about Angel that Derek found vaguely intriguing, the housebound four returned to the main room and sat on the couches there, waiting for the return of Angie and Angel.

**XXX**

**A/N:**_ Well, there we go. Chapter two done. Later than it could have been, but I've had boyfriend issues (now I don't have one) on top of my natural laziness. I can't believe that over five thousand words aren't enough for me to show what I want the story to be exactly, but we'll figure it all out eventually. I'm tired and my betas didn't get to check all of this (unless you wanted to be waiting for another week) so deal with my typos. I'm beginning to want to do a collaborative piece so I don't have to do so much active thinking… Well, read and review, let me know what you think or what you want me to update. I'll get around to stuff eventually._


	3. Second first meetings

**A/N:**_ Y'all seem to like this one, so I'm trying to keep this one updated as frequently as possible. Some of you have expressed slight concerns about the story, but I hope to allay those fears as soon as possible. Props to my betas, _Ultrawoman_ and _Ezekeiel Rage

**Disclaimer:**_ It's late and the closest thing I've done to writing since I posted the last chapter of this is some beta work for a couple of people. Bear with me, or I'll send my betas around to your place to choke your wivvers with their dead. Well, not really considering that, statistically speaking, the majority of my readers would be the wivvers, and I'm even less likely to get reviews if I choke my readers with my dead betas. Oh, and my betas may not want to be dead, but since when is what they want my priority?_

**XXX**

**Second first meetings**

**XXX**

"_How the hell does this thing work?"_

"_Don't shake it like that."_

"_I wouldn't have to if you just told me how to work this thing."_

"_I told you already, Derekthel! You just don't listen!"_

"_Hey, hey! Calm dow- OW! Okay, now that wasn't called for."_

"_You deserved it, you big jinghead!"_

"_What the Mekh for? All I want is to make my goodbyes on tekcode."_

"_You shouldn't be making goodbyes! Why the Mekh do you have to be one of the ones who stays behind?"_

"_Somebody has to do the dying so everyone else can survive."_

"_So why can't it be someone else? You've been fighting ever since you came of age. Three damn years!"_

"_Which is why I should be one of the ones to stay behind."_

"_It's why you shouldn't be! Do you know how scared mom was every time you went out? We never knew when you weren't going to come home, and now you want to guarantee that you don't?"_

"_Lis, it's not like that."_

"_Then what is it like? Because it sure seems like that."_

"_I know you, Mal and mom used to be worried that I wouldn't come home, but I always did. At least you got that. Almost no-one else did. We were lucky. It's just not in me to ask someone else to lose even more when I can prevent it."_

"_Kopel!"_

"_You kiss mom with that mouth?"_

"_You press the button with the giant power symbol on it to turn the tekcoder on."_

"_Lis, don't cry. Wait. Wait!"_

"_Kol off, kopel!"_

"_I'm sorry, Lis. I hope you realise that I don't want to leave you guys, one day. I also hope mom never catches you using language like that. Now, big button with a power symbol on it? Oh, she must mean thi-"_

**XXX**

"Ooh, Angel, what's this?" Angie asked, rocking on the balls of her feet as she held up yet another box from the shelf.

Angel was seriously regretting not trying to trade the young slayer for the older, more sedate jelt as she was managing to tear the fun right out of being newly human. Five minutes after he'd explained what a shop was and what it was for, she'd begun talking and hadn't stopped for the last half-hour. It was always the exact same question, too. Angel, what's this? Angel, what's this? She didn't listen to the answers he gave her the first couple times, just cutting him off with another Angel, what's this?

"Angel? Angel? Angel! Tell me what this is! Pleeeeeeeease?" Angie asked as she skipped up the aisle to pester Angel at close range.

She rattled the latest next to his ear as he ground his teeth in frustration and tried to ignore her as he moved up the aisle, putting anything that looked like it would be useful to anyone in the group; bread, milk, toilet paper, toothbrushes and paste, shampoo, hair gel - and no matter what Spike would say, the gel was for the younger people because they would need to fit in - some other basic groceries. Hopefully the others would find some clothes for Spike.

Angel had discovered something very important shortly after leaving the mansion. Angie had mentioned holes in her jeans - or as she put it, "my strange, ugly, blue pants are broken! Look! Their integrity has been breached." - and Angel had attempted to explain pockets to the excitable young slayer. Her disbelief was readily apparent, so Angel had put hands into his own pockets to demonstrate, only to be surprised by the presence of a wallet.

Angie, however, interpreted Angel's surprised, "Oh!" as a sign of being under attack and proceeded to tackle him to the ground, trying to protect him from the breach in his pants' integrity.

After regaining consciousness - as a vampire, a hyperactive slayer's tackle never had anywhere near that much effect - Angel managed to not yell at the contrite Angie, and shared his discovery with her. She didn't see how the green paper was that great an idea, but she did find Angel's license incredibly amusing.

Next had come the store, and shortly after that began the endless barrage of Angel, what's this?

"Angel, what's this?"

Angel clenched his fists and every muscle in his body tightened. Taking a deep breath and counting to ten, he unclenched his jaw and looked at the box the young girl was maniacally waving in his face. He stared at it for a second without comprehension before snatching the box out of her hand.

"Hey!" Angie complained loudly while Angel hushed her and frantically looked about for a place to surreptitiously throw the box of condoms. "At least tell me what that was."

"It was a box of condoms," Angel hissed, feeling the unfamiliar heat of a blush creep across his face.

"Ohhh." Angel began counting mentally. One. Two. Three. "What's a condom?"

"Why don't you go pick some ice-cream out of the freezer over there?" he suggested weakly, sagging in relief as she skipped over to the freezer and began to look in with child-like wonder.

"Little sisters can be monsters, can't they?" a clear, feminine voice asked.

Angel nearly had a heart seizure. It had been a long time, over three hundred years, but the voice was still familiar. He turned around and felt a jolt of complex emotions, even after three centuries. She was a lot younger than he remembered, her whole demeanour more vibrant. Her tanned skinned practically glowed and her hazel eyes shone with amusement through her blonde fringe, which hung artfully over her face.

"Hi, my name's Buffy Summers," she said, removing all doubt as she extended her hand, which Angel shook weakly.

"Angel."

"So, are you guys new here? I mean, I haven't seen you around," Buffy asked.

"Uhh, yeah. We just moved into the mansion on Crawford Street with our cousins," Angel supplied the story they'd prepared.

"Cool," Buffy replied, smiling.

The smile disappeared off the blonde's face when a second familiar figure came barging up the aisle. Angel felt another burst of emotion, this one predominantly grief, when he recognised the gangly figure of an eleven year-old Dawn Summers staring at her sister with death-glare-level-5.

"C'mon, freak-monster! Mom says it's time to go, and I get the ice cream."

Dawn flounced off in the direction of the exit just as Angie came up with a tub of ice cream in hand. "Can we get this one Angel?"

Angel blinked before realising that the pair were looking for an introduction. "Angie, this is Buffy Summers. Buffy, Angie… my sister."

"Nice to meet you, Angie," Buffy said warmly.

"Sqwp!" Angie peeped, her eyes wide, her entire body taut.

After a distinct pause Buffy retracted her hand. "Right…"

"Mawp!" Angie shrilled, dropping the tub of ice cream to the floor.

"Buffy!" Dawn yelled from across the store. "If you don't hurry up, I'll tell Mom that you broke curfew on Wednesday!"

Buffy rolled her eyes and smiled ironically. "I've got to go," she said, casting a slightly disturbed look at Angie who let out a strangled 'Fwuh!', before looking coyly at Angel.

"See you 'round?"

"Bye," Angel said.

Angie pwok'd.

**XXX**

Spike slouched even further in his chair and closed his eyes, trying to block out the three sitting across from him. Well, more the girls, because Derek was usually pretty quiet. Regular bloody Angel wannabe that one. Probably be overfond of hair gel, too.

He scratched himself through the thin black cotton of his t-shirt - put on because, after the chat about peroxide, all three of them stared at him to the exclusion of all else and it was bloody disconcerting - and tried to block out the stream of questions the girls were sending his way.

"Do you know where, or even when we are?"

"Does this reality have food? Because I'm getting hungry…"

"Do you feel any different now you have The Peroxill in your hair?"

"Are all clothes in this dimension this uncomfortable?"

"Does wearing black have some significance when your hair is white?"

"What the hell is this thing around my boobs?" (Spike cocked open an eye at that, only to close it again after seeing her toying with a bra-strap. Human or vamp, Spike was still a heterosexual man.)

"What is the cultural significance of the transparent holes in the walls?"

"I'm cold. Are you cold?"

"Now that you are human do you feel a significant loss in strength, speed or overall attractiveness?"

"Why am I so itchy?"

"Can you take your shirt off?"

Spike's eyes snapped open and he glared at Derek, who posed the last question. The man in question shrugged indolently.

"What? We're going to be stuck here for a while, so why shouldn't we have something to entertain us while we wait?"

Spike opened his mouth to say something, then paused. After a moment, he stood and took his shirt off. After all, the man did have a point. Sprawling in his chair once more, Spike closed his eyes but this time without the cacophony screeching in his ears the whole time. Sure, he was human now, but he wasn't deaf.

The time passed slowly while they waited for Angel and Angie to return, especially since Spike had discovered he did have clothes, but in his five hundred years Spike had learned a little responsibility. If he left now, he'd not only be abandoning one or more of the kids alone here to wait for Angel, but he'd be forcing Angel to have to hunt him down and without vampire senses that would probably take too long.

Besides, self-preservation instinct said that if it was dangerous out there, they'd know when Angel and Angie simply didn't show up. Spike decided he was okay with that.

"Hey guys!" Angie's loud, shrill voice cut into the silence unexpectedly, causing Spike to leap to his feet, cursing human hearing. "We're back! And you'll never guess what-"

Angie ceased talking when she saw Spike, standing there half-naked - as opposed to fully naked as when they'd left him - and when she saw his bleached hair she let out a battle shriek and tackled him to the ground.

Spike groaned as he slowly regained consciousness, dimly noting that Angel or Derek, or maybe both, was explaining the concept of hair dye to Angie. Spike blearily opened his eyes just in time to see Angie realise that she was laying across a half-naked man, and not just any man but one of her idols, Spike. She flung herself off him so fast it was both amusing and bruising to the ego.

Spike pulled on his shirt, wincing as he saw the beginnings of a slayer shaped bruise on his stomach, and smirked at the red-faced Angie as he fell back into his chair.

"I found-"

"Wallets, ID, credit cards, maybe even some cash. We know, Peaches. We found them too," Spike informed him, trying not to let anyone see how much pain he was in. This human kick had bloody well better get much better sharpish.

"You did?" Angel asked dismayed.

"We went in to a store!" Angie began excitedly, reminding Spike why he'd been so glad to shunt her off to Angel.

"What's a store?" Anna asked interestedly.

"Oh, it's great!" Angie enthused. "It's full of stuff. Food and hair gel and teeth stuff and ice cream and condoms." The young slayer frowned at Spike, who burst out laughing. Angel reddened slightly and the other three looked on curiously, not getting the joke.

"And we walked all the way there and all the way here in the open and we didn't even get attacked once!" Angie gushed, to the amazement of the others. "You could even see the sky!"

"What's it like?" Mary asked curiously.

"It's pretty. You could see lots and lots and lots of stars, and one of them looked close enough to touch. Angel called it moon. And you'll never guess who I met there!" Angie continued, ignoring Spike's laughter as best she could.

"On moon?" Derek enquired, trying to follow the young girl's train of thought.

"No, in the store, silly," Angie giggled.

"Who?" asked Anna, despite herself.

"The most holy Buffy Summers!" Angie said reverentially.

Spike's laughter stopped immediately and he felt an intense ache in his chest before he remembered that breathing was no longer a luxury. Ever since recognising the Crawford Mansion, this had been one hope that he hadn't dared foster and the possibility alone was… beyond words. He turned painfully hopeful eyes to Angel, who nodded solemnly.

The bleached blond rose to his feet unsteadily and staggered towards his room.

**XXX**

Buffy quietly pulled on her jacket and grabbed her stakes, being careful not to make too much noise. Her Mom or Dad might hear her, or worse, Dawn would. Buffy suspected that she was far too evil to be a human child, and had delicately posed questions to her parents but they both seemed reasonably sure that the demon-child was theirs. Maybe there was a mix-up at the hospital or something.

Opening the window, wincing when it got jammed before opening fully with a loud bang, Buffy prepared to sneak out of her house once again to go patrolling. She nearly had heart failure when there was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Yeah?" she called out eventually.

"Phone for you, sweetheart," Hank called back. "It's your friend Willow."

Buffy opened the door and held out an arm imperiously for the phone. Hank looked at his now-fully dressed daughter and cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh!" Buffy exclaimed when she realised what her Dad was looking at. "Just trying on some outfits. You know us girls," she said with a fake laugh.

"Mm hmm," Hank murmured, glancing at the wide open window.

"It's stuffy in here. Isn't it stuffy?"

Hank handed Buffy the cordless phone and leaned in. "Don't let your mother catch you."

As her Dad walked away, Buffy lifted the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, Buff, it's me. Did I catch you at a bad time?" Willow asked.

"Oh, hi Will," the Slayer responded. "No, I was just about to go patrolling."

"I didn't get you in any trouble, did I?" the redhead worried.

"Nah. I think my Dad figured it out but he just thinks I'm sneaking out to meet with boys."

"Are there boys?"

"Sadly, no," Buffy sighed. "Although I did meet this really cute guy at the store earlier."

"Sparkage?"

"Major sparkage. He was with his sister, but she was… a little weird."

"Person-weird or Hellmouthy-weird?"

"I dunno. She just kept making funny sounds. It was kinda wiggy."

"But the brother was cute?" Willow returned to the important issue.

"Waaay cute."

"Have you done the French homework?"

"Ugh, no."

"We have a spare tomorrow morning, so I can help you and Xander then, if you like."

"Xander hasn't done it either?"

"Buffy, it's Xander."

The two girls shared a giggle.

"Good point. Look, I better go patrol. You just know the lecture Giles would give me if skipped it for a night."

"'k Buff, I'll catch you tomorrow at school."

"Later Will."

Buffy hung up the phone, grabbed another stake and slipped out the window, into the night.

**XXX**

**A/N:** _I'm proud. This is finally heading in the direction I need it to. On the plus side - or maybe the minus - I'm actually going to begin a more meaningful plot at some point. Rewatching old Angel episodes has given me an idea that's so very intriguing. As I am planning to personally respond to each review with an e-mail address attached, (after all, you go to the trouble to talk to me, the least I could do - aside from nothing - is to respond in kind) I might even tell you what the upcoming surprise is, if you ask nicely._

_I will be updating Demolished as soon as I feel I've done the chapter right. I also have a collaborative work - where someone else is the main creative drive, thank you very much - that infringes on my time. Bear with me, and review. Your comments do affect the speed and quality of my writing._


	4. Old…friends?

**A/N:**_ This chapter is a fair bit angstier than usual. I guess I'm just a little depressed or something. The next chapter should be back to the status quo, but I got a little heavy here. It's the drawback of not structuring your stuff so much. My writing is mercy to the whims of my emotion. And my ability to make the plot fit in. I have other scenes I could put in here, but with this kinda depressing opening, it'll just suck the fun right out. So be thankful for the update. No betas._

**Disclaimer:**_ I just realised that this fic seems to share a lot of similarities with Living History, a far superior (and complete) fic out there. You should check it out, it's pretty hilarious. I hope to write this half so good as that. _

**XXX**

**Old…friends?**

"_Hey there. I'm not sure who's going to find this, or even if anyone has found this. If you find this sphere, which should be theoretically possible as the panel I stored it in only reaches a heat quotient of 78 milteps and it takes a good 84 to melt a tekcode. _

_I haven't got long before the others notice I'm missing so I'll be succinct. This is the real reason I stayed behind. I'm in love with Angel. I know what I told all of you on the official tape, but I have to let the truth be known. _

_I don't want him to know. I know it wouldn't work -- I'm not his type. I'm happy to love him from a distance, without his knowing. I know him, if he knew it'd just be awkward. He's still in love with Cordelia Chase. I know that because Spike told me. It's ironic that he has a go at Spike for never getting over the Buffy when he's the same with the famous Seer._

_Anyway, I just wanted you to know the truth. I want to do my part, keep the new world true. I've got to get back before they realise I'm missing. There's only a little time left. Live well, people. Don't hide your feelings like I've done for so long._

**XXX**

Whistler took a deep, calming breath before appearing in the kitchen where Angel and the kids from the other future stood examining the groceries. He'd approach them first. Less chance of getting himself thrown through a window. Wait, groceries. That's bad. That means they went out, which means that they might have screwed everything up already.

"What's this?" one of the girls, a pretty young thing, about 20, asked, holding up a small container.

Angel looked a little sheepish. "That's… hair gel."

Spike's, it had to be Spike's, sardonic laughter echoed in the cavernous space. "I knew it wouldn't take you long, Peaches," the peroxide blond mocked as he entered the large, elegant room. "You're far too- you!"

Whistler never heard what Angel was far too much of because the newly human Spike hurtled across the kitchen and slammed his elbow into the messenger's face, causing the redhead to drop to the ground in an undignified heap. The immortal demon slowly rose to his feet and rubbed his jaw and cast a wounded look at Spike.

"What was that for? I didn't even say anything yet," Whistler complained.

"The last time," Spike said hollowly.

Of course, the demon realised. From the look on Angel's face, neither of the former vampires would ever forgive him his part in Misha's death sixty years prior. The fact that he hadn't known what was going to happen, that he'd simply passed on the message he'd been given. She'd died, the last surviving member of the Summers line, and it'd happened because of the message he'd passed on. They'd never forgive him.

"Why are you here?" Angel asked tersely.

"And who are you?" the other guy in the kitchen asked, his dark eyes shining with confusion.

"I'm sor-"

"Save it," Angel ordered, cutting off Whistler's attempted apology.

The demon sighed sadly. "My news ain't great."

"When is it ever?" Spike bitterly asked.

"The PTB pulled a fast one," Whistler told them. "This world ain't the paradise you've been thinking. It's a lot like your old one, pre-Hellmouth opening. The Slayer, pretty young blonde thing, took out the Master in this dimension but she was fated to be killed by the Anointed One some time in the next few months."

"What happened to our reward for fighting for so long?" Angel asked acerbically.

"Yeah, well, you wouldn't leave behind the mortals - no offence," he nodded at the four confused young dimension hoppers, "so the PTB decided that meant you were signing up for another tour o' service."

"Wait, why would the Anointed One be a problem in this dimension when he wasn't in ours?" Angel asked.

"The pretty little Slayer ain't got you or Spike lookin' out for her here."

"Why'd they send you?" Spike asked coldly.

"Cause Darla ain't dead in this dimension either, and I doubt that she'd find Angel here any less appealin' here than she did in your own dimension."

"That doesn't answer his question," Angel growled.

Whistler sighed. "I guess they thought you'd appreciate a friendly face."

"Then they could have done better," Spike sneered.

"Get everyone together," Whistler said briskly, hiding behind efficiency. "I still have a message to deliver."

**XXX**

"Okay," Whistler said to the assembled group. "The PTB have set you all up somewhere, so you have something to do. Derek, you're going to be a Junior in the Sunnydale high school. Your classes start on Monday, just get Spike or Angel to drop you off. You're a smart fella, you'll figure it out."

Derek blinked a few times. "O…kay…"

"Anna, you'll be with Derek."

Anna's eyes blazed with curiosity as she nodded firmly.

"Angie-"

"Ooh! Am I some kind of super Slayer? Chasing down demons and slaying them?" she asked excitedly, squirming in her seat.

"Not so much. You'll be in your seventh year at high school. Mary."

"Yeah?" she asked apprehensively.

"I got you a job in a coffee shop. You should be able to pick it up pretty easily with your training."

Mary nodded contentedly, not noticing the muffled snickers from Spike.

"Angel, Spike, we didn't set anything up for you. Your bank accounts should have enough to live on."

"You mean to tell me," Spike began dangerously. "You mean to tell me that the Poof and myself are un-bloody-employed?"

Whistler considered the question a moment. "Yes."

Spike blinked, then contemplated. "Fair enough."

**XXX**

"You wanna talk about it?" Mary asked the brooding Angel quietly.

"I thought it was Anna who asked the questions."

"I'm the one who listens," Mary said with a soft smile, dropping down opposite the big man. "Who was he?"

"That was Whistler," Angel murmured curtly. When Mary looked offended and made as though to leave, Angel sighed. "It's his fault Misha died."

"Who was Misha?"

"You know about Buffy." Angel waited for the affirming nod. "She had a little sister, named Dawn. A few years after Buffy died in a car accident, Dawn had a baby. A little boy. Michael. When Dawn died in labour with her second kid, years down the track, Spike and I started to look after Mike. We watched him grow up and have kids, and them grow up and have their kids and so on."

Angel paused, lost in the memories and Mary was silent for a change, sensing Angel's reluctance.

"Then, when the Hellmouth opened, any members with the Summers blood were hunted by the rogue Slayers and demons. Spike and I did our best, but we couldn't protect them all. Eventually there was only one left. Little Misha. She was only 9 years old. Whistler came, brought us a message. It told us where the tracking demons nested. Spike and I took off to kill these demons, to protect Misha only while we were gone demons overran our safe haven. The Powers That Be decided that Misha was somehow too dangerous and arranged for us to be away when the attack came."

"That's terrible," Mary breathed.

"It hit Spike hard. We both fell in love with Buffy, but I moved on. Spike never did. Misha was all he had left of Buffy, and he failed her. That was when Spike started the death runs. I think he was trying to get himself killed."

**XXX**

Spike sat on the window sill and stared out into the night moodily, cradling his sore knuckles. Violence just wasn't as easy as a human. The ex-vampire glanced at Derek, who leaned against the wall leisurely, and decided not to break the comfortable silence. It was one thing that Derek was good at; knowing when not to talk.

"Oh my Tel!" Angie shrieked happily from the kitchen.

Spike and Derek shared a look before getting up and heading towards the moans of the hyperactive Slayer. When they reached the room they had to stifle a snicker. Angie had her hands wrist deep in the ice cream punnet, the ice cream smeared haphazardly all over her face which had an expression of intense bliss.

"This is the bestest stuff EVER!" she squealed, before diving back into the container with gusto.

**XXX**

_Depressingly Primitive Recording of Past Events as They Probably Occurred_

_Annalisa Mevirium Telomire_

_**Entry I**_

_Humble reader,_

_I have consigned myself to using these disgustingly simplistic tools for the purpose of recording our travails. I believe Angel referred to them as 'books' and he seemed fond of them, as antiquated and inaccurate as they may be. Spike expressed much derision towards these 'books' which has led me to believe that they have some undisclosed flaws in their ability to express the truth of events._

_It has only been a handful of hours and yet we have learned and/or established much of great import. Among these things we have established that Spike has a very attractive body. His skin appears to be surprisingly supple for someone having lived over five hundred years._

_I have been assured that, while demons are present here, they have neither the numbers nor strength of demons from our world. This is highly reassuring, as all of the structures of this world are built with aesthetics in mind over functionality._

_The final, and most important, thing that we have uncovered is the existence of a substance called Iced Cream. It is surely a product of magic as no work of human hand could create an ambrosia such as this. _

_I will return later, good reader, as if I am not quick Angie will demolish the remains of the Iced Cream. She eats a truly prodigious amount for a person her size, even a Slayer._

**XXX**

**A/N:**_ There it is. Another update, and one much gloomier than the others. Some information that I'll need later on was shared here, and one or two funnies so it wasn't as bad as I first thought. I'm trying to get back into my writing, particularly after a recent loss. I'm over halfway done on the next chapter of Demolished and the next chapter of this is already planned in my head. I have some time off coming up, so expect at least one update soonish. In the meantime, REVIEW._


	5. Boredom has strange consequences

**A/N:**_ This is being written in favour of sleep. Real life has given me a huge kick in the stomach very recently which is making writing preferable to sleep, so yay for you, right? I do have one worry, though. Excluding a very few I seem to have been abandoned. I'll let you know now, peoples, I'm currently feeling pretty bad. I wouldn't even be writing this if I hadn't been bored and looked over some past, glowing reviews. I'm not threatening to quit writing but I am warning that if I don't feel appreciated I may opt for easier ways of distracting myself. Your call._

**Disclaimer:**_ This chapter is done for my ever faithful reviewers. The ever faithful reviewers who have been reviewing, that is. So blame late night, no beta and a little bit of nostalgia if this chapter isn't up to par. Of course, you theoretically could blame me but who'd want to do that? _

**XXX**

**Boredom has strange consequences**

**XXX**

"_Okay peoples, listen up. I'm here to give you the tech speech. It works like this; there are a lot of big, strong, scary demons out there. Not a lot of big, strong, scary demons in here. That's the way we like it. Of course, there aren't enough Slayers or Jelts to keep them out. That's where us techies come in._

_We work the big guns. You all know how the Jelts use a compact alloy that causes the demons to explode? Well, all our bullets are made of the same alloy and we use big guns. Whenever we're under attack, you just point and shoot. A monkey could do that, right?_

_Wrong. This alloy causes huge complications in the wiring. For every sixteen shots you get off, you're probably going to have to fix something on the gun somewhere. What you have to do is swing out of your seat and slide your way as far as you need to down the burning hot barrel of the gun and fix whatever's broken loose then get back up to your seat and start firing again. Before the demons reach you, because if they do the security team will blow your gun. _

_That gives you a two, maybe three minute window. We haven't been drilling you lot this hard for fun. Well, not entirely for fun. We're just as needed as the others, and our job needs just as much skill and precision. If you lot aren't worried, then you don't deserve to be on the walls. I'm sure you've heard one of Spike's speeches. Everything he said goes double for me. You screw up and you die. We don't have lucky accidents that let people survive. If the demons got control of one of our guns then we're all dead._

_Don't screw up."_

**XXX**

Spike slid the leather duster on smoothly, then checked his pockets. Wallet, check. Stake, check. Smokes and lighter, check. House key, check. Lock picks for when he lost the house key or he just wanted in some place he wasn't allowed, check.

"Where're you going?" Derek asked from his place in the doorway.

"Out," Spike said with a grin. "I figure that Angel can baby sit the girls. Wanna come with?"

The pair cocked their heads, listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen.

"No, Angie. That's a wooden spoon, not a stake for really flabby vampires. It's used for cooking," Angel explained wearily.

"Interesting, interesting." The scrabbling of pen on paper. "What is cooking?"

"Why do I have to wipe up this mess? Is it my fault Angie can't manage to put hand to mouth more than one time in five?" Mary complained loudly.

Derek shrugged. "Sure."

The pair sneaked out the front door, careful not to alert Angel to their escape. Spike breathed deeply the fresh night air. He was already regretting the loss of his vampire sense of smell. It smelled… clean. Wholesome. Good. It had been so long since he'd been able to breath outside without gagging he'd forgotten what it was like.

Looking over at his friend, Spike noticed he wasn't the only one who was revelling in a pre-apocalyptic world's night. Derek had his eyes wide open and fixed on the stars, and he was breathing so deeply he was in danger of passing out or something if it went on much longer.

When Spike looked at the street he was on, he grinned. "Hey, mate. You want to see how people had fun back in the old days?" Derek looked at Spike's gleeful expression before tentatively consenting. Spike offered a more genuine smile, clapping the young man on the back. "Don't worry, mate. It shouldn't hurt a bit."

Quickening their pace, it wasn't long until the familiar sounds of the Bronze could be heard. Spike felt a little disappointed that Derek's face remained impassive except for a quirking of his eyebrow. It would be much more satisfying to have brought along one of the girls. The jelt was too much like Angel in some ways, even if he was markedly different to the poof in that he was actually likeable.

As they approached the door to the local club, Spike noticed an almost familiar shape duck into the alley, closely followed by what were clearly vampires. Rolling his eyes, Spike gestured to Derek and started off to the girl's aid.

"You know how to kill a vamp?" he asked the young man gruffly. The blank stare he got was answer enough. "Most demons in this world aren't the same as our old one. Beheading works on most of them, but there aren't too many who'll be affected by the same things. The one's we're about to fight can be killed by beheading, wood through the heart, sunlight or fire."

A terse nod was all there was time for before they launched themselves into combat. Five vamps on three humans, two of them women. The biggest vamp was leaning over a redhead - Willow? - while three were pummelling a dark-haired young man - Xander? - so Spike went after the one about to bite a dark-haired girl. As the vamp exploded into dust, Spike caught the dazed woman and lowered her to the ground gently before trying to sneak up on the three attacking the man.

One of the three attacking the young man turned and snarled a warning to his friends. The dropped the boy to the ground and attacked Spike. Punching one in the face and kicking another in the stomach with his steel-capped boots before the third dragged him down. When it tried to bite him he viciously head butt the vamp, probably breaking a nose.

Gripping the smallest vamp, Spike rolled suddenly to one side and jammed a stake into it before it realised what was happening. A searing pain in his side flared suddenly as one of the vampire's kicked him five feet across the ground. He was hauled to his feet and punched in the gut, winding him. This human need for air was already biting him in the ass.

Derek finished his first vamp and tackled one of the one's on Spike, but that was all the ex-vampire saw because the remaining vamp landed a roundhouse on his jaw, knocking him to the ground. As he gasped for air, the vampire descended with an evil grin, his yellowed teeth dull in the poor light. Actually, the bloody things would be ugly in any light except pure sunlight.

The dark, ugly vampire dissolved into dust and Spike saw a concerned, much younger than remembered Xander extending a hand to help him up. He weakly gripped the proffered hand and the young man dragged him to his feet. This was just bloody great. He owed his new life to the whelp.

"Not that I don't appreciate the help," Xander said in a strained voice, "but who are you guys?"

Spike bent at the waist, trying to catch his breath , so Derek answered him. "I'm Derek, he's Spike. We're… new here."

"Well, I gotta say I'm glad," the dark-haired girl said loudly. "I really don't want to end up vamp-chow. I'm Cordelia Chase," she said with an imperious nod.

"I'm Xander," the boy said, shaking hands with Derek.

"Hi, I'm Willow," the redhead muttered, rubbing her throat tenderly. She cast a worried look at the heaving Spike. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine," Derek said breezily. "He smokes."

Spike finally straightened up and began to breathe more slowly. Bloody hell, if this was the way he was going to be after every fight maybe he should quit. He'd have to get Derek to teach him some of those poncy breathing exercises that the Poof always harped on about.

"Hey guys," said a voice Spike had never even hoped to hear again, "sorry I'm late but there were more of them than I thought." Buffy Summers, in all her golden skinned, golden haired glory stood looking on in confusion. Spike felt his face heat up and… other parts of his anatomy reacted as well. This was just sodding great. He finally gets to see Buffy again- better, gets a fresh start and he's still too short of breath to speak and red-faced and beaten up to boot. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, nothing much, Buffy," Cordelia said snootily. "Just a vampire attack."

"Are you guys all right?" Buffy asked worriedly, her eyes darting to her friends' faces.

"We're fine," Cordelia stated, walking over to Spike and sliding an arm under his duster and wrapping it around him firmly. "Spike and his friend saved our lives."

**XXX**

They were back in the Bronze again. Some sort of 'thanks for saving our lives' thing, which, you know, they never said to her and she did it nightly. She saved the world weekly. Not that she was jealous, she totally wasn't. It just seemed a bit tacky to do all this for a pair of complete strangers. They could totally be trying to take over the world! Okay, so maybe the guy who spent most of his time laughing at Xander's jokes wasn't, but just because the other one was pretending to wince every time he took a sip of beer didn't mean he wasn't evil.

Buffy leaned back in her chair and frowned at Spike. Cordy was all over him, and okay, so maybe he was hot in a 'I'm stuck in the eighties and I love Billy Idol' way, but Buffy didn't trust him. His friend Derek seemed okay, even trustworthy. He hadn't tried to make a move on her or Willow, spending most of his time sitting next to and talking with Xander, unlike Spike, who'd been flirting with Cordy all night. What kind of name is Spike anyway?

"So, Spikey boy," Xander began. "Where'd you get the name?" The peroxide-blond perv just looked at Xander blankly. "I mean, Spike? Either there's a story behind that or someone's parents didn't like them very much."

"I think I can guess," Cordy simpered, throwing the guy a smouldering look. God, could the cheerleader be any more obvious? Mr sleaze blushed like a schoolgirl but he lifted that stupid scarred eyebrow of his and did this roll-y thing with his tongue that most certainly did not look sexy at all.

Looking anywhere but at the disgusting pig, Buffy's eyes lit up when they spotted the hottie from the store. Angel was here. Tonight might be okay after all.

**XXX**

Angel rubbed his forehead as he entered the Bronze. Somehow he just knew that Spike had dragged Derek to the local club, leaving Angel to watch the more… difficult three. Angie had been horrific when the sugar high kicked in, literally bouncing off the walls. She would have to stay on a strict non-ice cream diet. Unless Spike was going to watch her. Angel couldn't hold back an evil grin at the thought.

She'd finally just collapsed from exhaustion, and there was never a time when Angel had thanked the Powers more fervently than he had when that happened. Mary had wanted to check out the level of technology and see what she could pick up on her own, which would probably be helpful since neither Angel nor Spike could remember a whole lot about the time frame clearly.

Anna, after her discovery of 'the iced cream' had opted to stay at home and 'investigate' all the food he'd bought rather than go find Spike and Derek. Just as well, really, because he wasn't in the mood for her shrill questions about everything. Normally he was okay with it, but this had been one hell of a day.

As he stepped inside the Bronze, Angel realised how long it had been since he saw people so carefree. It felt good to see a world mostly untainted by demons, a world that still wore a lot of colour and had music.

All good will deserted him when he saw a peroxide blond head at a table. Angel knew it, absolutely _knew_ that Spike had lumped him with the girls and gone searching for Buffy. He'd known it ever since he mentioned she was back. Spike had no sense of self con-- wait a second. The girl who was pressed up against him had dark hair. When she flicked her hair out of her way, Angel forgot to breath.

Cordy.

**XXX**

_Depressingly Primitive Recording of Past Events as They Probably Occurred_

_Annalisa Mevirium Telomire_

_**Entry I-b**_

_Humble reader,_

_My findings are of such interest that I have been forced to create this second notation. Much has been discovered and confirmed. Chief among them, though Angel is pretty he refuses to take off his shirt while we wait for Spike. This leads me to the conclusion that Angel is, as Spike has called him, a Poof. I am unsure as to the meaning of the word, but Angel is the only one who gets called a Poof by Spike, and he is the only one who would not take off his shirt. This must be crucial to his Poofness._

_Another thing of great import are a list of foodstuffs, good and bad._

_Good_

_Iced Cream (!)_

_Coco Pops_

_Milk_

_Cheese_

_Peanut Butter_

_Bad_

_Toilet Paper_

_Glad Wrap_

_Butter_

_I must return to my Angie-vigil, good reader, farewell. _

**XXX**

**A/N: **_That's a little more light-hearted, isn't it? It's late, and I can't think of much to say other than the segment at the start was Mary, for those who didn't know. More plot twists soon! Of course, it'll be a lot sooner if you REVIEW!_


	6. First Days

**A/N:**_ This chapter was created at the behest of a fan who begged and begged. Goes to show ya, I'm easily bought. Praise me in review form and I'm far more likely to update. Praise in MSN or AOL form works just as well._

**Disclaimer:**_ The grand beginning of my story arcs. This takes place during the episode Phases, season 2 of Buffy. Well, there abouts at any rate. I've changed a few minor things which should be obvious as we go._

**XXXXX**

**First days**

"_There."_

"_Why did you just turn on the tekcoder?"_

"_So I can use the footage later when you're not around and finish my training."_

"_Lift your wrist more, good, then shove. So, how's school?"_

"_It's okay, I guess. There's not much there that I don't already know, you know?"_

"_It's because you're a nerd."_

"_Derekthel!"_

"_I'm sorry, I'm sorry."_

"_You don't sound sorry…"_

"_I am."_

"_Then stop laughing!"_

"_I can't! You should see the look on your face."_

"…"

"_What's wrong?"_

"_I… I joined the jelts."_

"_You what!"_

"_I'm old enough, and I'm already trained by one of the best."_

"_Does mom know about this?"_

"…_no…"_

"_I'm going to get Marakai to take you out then."_

"_Why?"_

"_You don't know how bad it is."_

"_It can't be that bad! You're always fine."_

"_You have no idea, little girl! If I can help it, you'll never have to wade through the blood of your friends, never have to kill your emotions so they don't make you weak when you're fighting, watching as your friends and lovers get cut open and they'd be fine if only you could get them back to the city but knowing you can't even try or thousands more will die the same way!"_

"_I'm… I didn't know."_

"_Just turn that thing off."_

**XXX**

Mary looked despairingly at lump of plastic and metal that was once called a toaster. This technology was so _primitive_! It seemed to rely on controlled lightning of some sort. Either that, or a sophisticated set of magnets that cease to function when you hit them with a heavy stack of books, but if she had to guess, she'd figure it was controlled lightning. By the time people switched to magnets they had made books illegal.

"What's that, do you think?" Anna asked curiously.

Mary grimaced. Anna didn't seem to be anything but curious. "It's a trap designed to catch and kill tekcoders," she muttered flatly.

"Really?" Anna chirped. "Before they even had tekcoders? Amazing!"

Mary breathed in deeply and held it, counting to ten while Anna scribbled in her notebook. Surely she couldn't be that dense? One look at the earnest tongue slightly hanging out the corner of her mouth as she madly scratched notes in her book told Mary the answer. When the sound of the front door echoed into the room, Mary abandoned her work.

Walking into the main room, Mary saw something she'd never expected to see in her life. Angel and Spike were glaring at one another as though they wanted to kill each other. Derek had a bemused smile on his face as he slouched in the chair, so Mary dropped into the seat next to him and waited. It was Anna who asked the question, as always.

"What happened?"

"I found out what a back-stabbing wanker the poof is!" Spike exploded, gesticulating wildly.

Angel's eyes widened, a sign of intense emotion. "Me? What about you!"

Mary raised a questioning brow to Derek as the pair of ex-vampires argued loudly.

"Spike and I went out," he began to explain. "We went to a club - a place where they have music and a lot of other stuff," he answered Anna's question before she could form the words. "Spike saw a couple of demons, we killed them. Next thing I know, I'm sitting across from Buffy Summers, in between Willow and Xander."

"You met the most Holy Buffy Summers?" a sleepy Angie asked from the doorway. Derek shrugged with one shoulder and nodded. "Oh. My. Tel!" she screeched loudly, bouncing up and down excitedly. "What were they like?"

"Buffy was a little moody," he said bluntly. "Xander was cute though."

"You had your hand on her ass, Spike!" Angel's voice boomed.

"She's the one who put it there, you great bloody pillock!" Spike screamed back.

Angel's fist suddenly lashed out, catching Spike on the cheek. The smaller man fell back on his behind with a curse while Angel gasped and nursed his fist. Mary looked at Anna. She was writing furiously. She looked at Derek, who simply raised an eyebrow and grinned. She looked at Angie, whose face was a picture of horror.

"Screw this," Mary said into the now silent room. "I'm going to bed."

As she stomped up the stairs, she heard an inarticulate cry of rage and the sounds of a scuffle. She shook her head. This was too much to deal with right now.

**XXX**

Derek walked at the back of the odd procession. Angie skipped out in front, her virulently purple pants clashing horribly with her neon pink shirt and the fluorescent yellow rain jacket. Angie seemed to believe that, since colour was a common factor in this time's fashion, she would be the height of fashion by wearing the brightest coloured clothes she could find. Derek wasn't quite sure this was how it worked. From Spike's snickers, he was actually pretty sure it was the opposite.

Of course, Spike was the one who insisted on wearing four layers of mostly black clothing, including a heavy leather jacket, in the sweltering Californian heat. He looked distinctly annoyed, but that could have been Angel's presence.

Angel wore dark colours as well, but his clothes were of a finer weave than Spike's. If he had to guess, he'd suspect them of trying to outdo one another. Using a critical eye, Derek had to concede that both men looked very good. Spike's look was hard and immediate, a lot like his personality, and it would certainly draw the eye. Angel's look, on the other hand, was more understated, as though each piece of the outfit was specially picked to emphasise the tall man.

Derek had decided to play conservatively. He'd always thought he'd looked pretty good in uniform, so he wore clothes of comforting grey, beige and black. He'd considered the green shirt hanging in the closet, but that could be social death. Both ex-vampires had mentioned how cut-throat high schools in general were, and considering this one was on a Hellmouth Derek decided safe, neutral colours were better.

Anna had put on a pair of jeans and a sunny top - she seemed to favour the colours blue and yellow - and Derek thought she looked pretty good. He did suspect she'd look better if she didn't insist on the painfully orange pair of shoes. Of course, she had to wear those shoes because they matched her pencil. Anna was far too complex a person to consider switching pencils.

Mary had worn all black - combat boots to shirt - and would have cut an imposing figure if she had been wearing her usual expression. Of course, since neither Angel nor Spike trusted the other at the high school, Mary had been left to find her job on her own and Derek suspected that she'd be incredibly pissed off by the time she was finished being petrified.

The school loomed into view and Derek decided that Angel and Spike had spent long enough glaring at one another.

"Guys, we're here," he said, a shade louder than necessary.

"I'll walk Anna and Derek in," Angel said quickly. "Spike, you take Angie."

Spike's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I don't think so, mate. She's your 'sister'," he grated.

"I don't trust you to go in the high school," Angel shot back.

"Oh, and I'm supposed to trust you? You actually have seduced girls their age before!"

"One time!"

"More like five!"

"You know as well as I do that it wasn't my fault after the first time, so don't try and lay it on me. And it's not like you're blameless! Remember Carlotta, Spike?"

"Hey, guys," Derek interjected, stepping between the two men who had somehow ended up nose to nose. "I'm sure Anna and I will be able to find where we need to go on our own."

Angel and Spike stared at one another scathingly. Their thought processes were almost visible; _so long as he's not going…_

"Fine," they both snapped, and headed off in opposite directions leaving a very confused Angie behind.

**XXX**

Xander quietly approached Larry in the locker room. He just knew Larry was the werewolf that was killing people in town, and this was the best place to confront him about it, get him to seek help.

"Harris," Larry said, starting in surprise when he noticed the other boy. "Sheesh. Next time wear a bell."

"Why so jumpy, Larry?"

Larry sneered. "Geeks make me nervous."

Xander decided to give him the chance to confess. After all, he was a nice guy. "Is that really it or is there something you're hiding?"

"I could hide my fist in your face," Larry threatened, angrily waving a fist in the smaller boy's face.

"I know your secret, big guy," Xander said calmly. "I know what you've been doing at night."

A worried expression crossed the Jock's face. "You know, Harris, that nosey little nose of yours is going to get you into trouble someday... Like today."

Xander took a step back, hands in the air. "Hurting me isn't gonna make this go away. People are still gonna find out."

"Alright," Larry muttered desperately. "What do you want? Hush money? Is that what you're after?"

Xander shook his head sadly. Some people had trouble with the whole compassion bit. "I don't _want_ anything! I just wanna help!"

"What, you think you have a cure?" the bigger boy asked bitterly.

"No, it's just…" Xander thought back to the time he was possessed by a hyena. "I know what you're going through because I've been there. That's why I know you should talk about it."

"Yeah, that's easy for _you_ to say. I mean, you're nobody. I've got a reputation here."

Xander made an honest appeal. "Larry, please." He watched the Jock's stubborn expression waver. "Before someone else gets hurt."

Larry slumped. :Look, if this gets out, it's over for me. I mean, forget about playing football. They'll run me outta this town. I mean, come on!" He gestured to himself. "How are people going to look at me after they find out I'm gay? Oh, wow. I said it. And it felt... okay. I'm gay. I am gay," Larry repeated in a whisper.

"I heard you the first time," Xander breathed faintly.

"I can't believe it. It was almost easy. I never felt I could tell anyone. And then you, you of all people, you bring it outta me," Larry enthused, smiling warmly at Xander who felt panic encroaching on all sides.

"It probably would have slipped out even if I wasn't here," he muttered weakly.

"No, no, because knowing you went through the same thing, made it easier for me to admit it."

Slowly, the wheels turned. The penny dropped. A sinking feeling began in hi stomach. "The same thing…"

"It's ironic. I mean, all those times I beat the crap out of you, it musta been because I recognized something in you that I didn't want to believe about myself," Larry said strongly, his revelation obviously liberating him.

"Larry, no, I am not-" Xander said frantically, waving his hands back and forth.

"Of course, of course not," Larry said patronisingly. "Don't worry. I wouldn't do that to you. Your secret's safe with me."

As the Jock left the locker room, Xander felt a lot like he was hyperventilating. This… nothing good could possibly come of this.

**XXX**

_Depressingly Primitive Recording of Past Events as They Probably Occurred  
__Annalisa Mevirium Telomire  
__**Entry II-a**_

_Dear reader,_

_The extent to which one must write to accurately record anything in this time is painfully large, so I will do a lot of summarising. I am well aware that my accuracy is greatly diminished by this, but I have finite time and resources._

_Firstly, I shall recount the events of last night. Our fantastic yet poofish leader Angel seemed greatly maligned by the dashing yet obnoxious Spike. It seems that, in the process of establishing the current situation, both men have managed to offend the other to the point where they resorted to fisticuffs. Angel suffered bruising to the shins and Spike had a lot of damaged skin around his ribs which was all, he assured me later, the result of fighting seven demons bare-handed to save three young girls._

_The following day brought us to Sunnydale High School. Much of the day passed in a flurry of information I have recorded elsewhere (The Ramblings of the Supposed Teacher, volumes 1-3) and it allowed me to see the Most Holy Buffy Summers, albeit from a great distance. Derek introduced me to a rather handsome individual who seemed to be the Great Xander. Derek assured me later that he was not usually that pale nor that uninteresting._

_After school was finished, Derek and I spent an informative hour with the Revered Willow and her boyfriend Oz, Xander (who was still very much uninteresting) and Cordelia the Seer (who does not, in fact, seem to be a seer of any kind nor even the good and generous person of legend which serves to warn, gentle reader, one cannot always believe what one reads)._

_More shall be revealed later, as I currently feel the need to make use of the faculties. As nice as it is, I feel impelled to advise against drinking a gallon of chocolate milk one half hour before retiring for the evening._

_Farewell, gentle reader, until I return._

**XXXXX**

**A/N:**_ Well, it's been a long time and I've finally updated this story. You'll have to bear with me, but I get carried away by an idea and it sticks and I can't think of much else. Getting this chapter out was a work of willpower. Still, I'm getting some time off in the nearish future and I'll use some of that to write. Next on my agenda, another Progeny chapter. Still, I'd like to see you REVIEW._


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